Taylor Wimpey says sections nearest Blackdown Hills will be ‘safeguarded from inappropriate development’
Artist’s impression of new ‘Taunton garden village’(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service / Taylor Wimpey)
A major housebuilder has confirmed it will be submitting proposals for 7,000 homes as part of a new ‘Taunton garden village’ under the emerging Somerset Local Plan.
The Somerset County Gazette reported in 2019 the Crown Estate had offloaded 1,200 acres of “productive farmland”, known as the Orchard Portman estate, to major developer Taylor Wimpey for the relatively modest sum of £12.5m.
Somerset Council recently launched the initial round of public consultation on its new Somerset Local Plan, which will ultimately determine where new housing and employment sites are allocated through to 2045.
Taunton resident David Orr condemned the plans in late June, arguing that they would lead to 9,000 new homes being constructed in an unsustainable location near Taunton Racecourse and cause permanent harm to the Blackdown Hills national landscape (formerly area of outstanding natural beauty, or AONB).
Taylor Wimpey has now confirmed it will be progressing with the proposals – albeit with the total number of homes being scaled back to around 7,000 – and has provided assurances that the sections closest to the Blackdowns will be safeguarded from inappropriate development.
The bulk of the Orchard Portman site lies to the east of the racecourse, spanning the parishes of Orchard Portman, Stoke St Mary and West Hatch.
A small portion of the proposed development directly overlaps the boundary of the Blackdown Hills, wrapping around the existing Netherclay and Thurlbear woodland.
Taylor Wimpey submitted the site for consideration in the new Local Plan in February 2025, as part of the ‘call for sites’ (whereby developers, landowners and land promoters were invited to submit possible locations for development, to be assessed and narrowed down by the council’s planning department).
A draft vision for the development was circulated to local parish councils in the autumn of 2025, with several key organisations offering encouraging initial responses – among them Bishop Fox’s School, King’s College, the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (which runs Musgrove Park Hospital) and the Somerset Chamber of Commerce.
Only a partial masterplan for the site has been made public thus far, suggesting the development could feature a farm shop, an amphitheatre and a woodland trail.
A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said: “Our proposals for the new Taunton garden village include around 7,000 modern, energy-efficient and sustainable homes alongside schools, healthcare facilities, community spaces and infrastructure needed to create a self-sustaining community.
“We are working with a wide range of local stakeholders to shape the best version of this new community, including local schools, care home operators, the NHS, local charities, business partnerships, wildlife groups and Somerset Council.
“We are promoting the new garden village through the council’s Local Plan process and will continue to work with local stakeholders and communities as those plans evolve.”
Partial masterplan of new ‘Taunton garden village’ of 7,000 homes near Taunton Racecourse(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service / Taylor Wimpey)
The current masterplan for the site (which has not been made public) includes a new primary and secondary school (including new special needs provision), a ‘healthcare hub’, a neighbourhood hub with a “dedicated mass transit route to the town centre”, commercial and office space, and affordable homes – including specialist children’s homes.
Taylor Wimpey has committed that “more than half of the site” will be retained as green space for “sport, recreation, food growing, equestrian use, children’s play and biodiversity enhancement” – and they will not construct homes within the boundary of the Blackdown Hills.
The consultation is running until July 24 and a summary of responses will be published in early November. The second round of consultation (including further details of proposed development sites) is anticipated to start in September 2027.
The third and final round of public consultation is presently scheduled to take place in March 2028, after which the Local Plan will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (which may hold additional public hearings if deemed necessary).
If all proceeds smoothly, the new Local Plan will be formally adopted on March 16, 2029.
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